OutFocus July 2015 by the Feathers

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

OUTFOCUS! YEAR TWO ISSUE 1 | JULY’15

WWW.ISSUU.COM/THEFEATHERS

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. - Leonardo Da Vinci

is maturity the process of losing integrity?

The immoral question. This question has tortured me for a long time. When we were all kids, our parents taught us to be good, and to not lie. When we grow up, if we retained that character, the same parents call us ‘naive’ and ‘not mature enough’. Is maturity measured in the ability to forget our morals? Ar Muthu Kumar, Editor.

Welcome to OutFocus. Hello World! OutFocus steps into yet another year of writing. Starting from July 2014, and extending into July 2015, it has been a pleasure knowing you all, and informating the world. Turn the pages to see what we have for you this month! :)

Disclaimer: With certain controversial topics, the opinions provided on this magazine are purely personal views of the author. Also, OutFocus assures you, we do not intend to hurt any person/ groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feelings. Love, Ar Muthu Kumar, Editor.

PHOTO:NEENA SABARI MENON

InPix: Shivraj | Anand Rai | Digvijaya Singh

VYAPAM SCAM

SEESTORY

N U FACTS!

Humans share 50% of their DNA with Bananas!

The opposition looked almost dull as they didn’t have anything big to take down Modi’s Government for almost a year. But then, almost a week after the BJP party celebrated their Corruption free first year, Opposition sprang up and protested as they got their first piece of cake- Lalit Modi. PM maintained silence even though the opposition demanded the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Cheif Minister Vasundra Raje. A tweet war started. While the issue is still burning bright, Opposition stumbled upon a big feast which they thought to be their next piece of cake - Vyapam Scam. The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam, now infamous as the Vyapam scam, has brought Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government under intense scrutiny. As news of the deaths of people related to the scam has been trickling in on a regular basis, the political blame game has started on who was responsible for the scam. While the Congress has demanded Chouhan’s resignation, the BJP (especially on social media) has pinned the blame on previous Congress regimes, including the time when Digvijay Singh was the chief minister of the state between 1993 and 2003. The MPPEB has been responsible for conducting entry into professional courses like the Pre-Medical examinations for the state since 1982. Complaints of irregularities while conducting the examinations first

surfaced in 2009, and the scam blew over in 2013. The Vyapam scam pertains to manipulation in the selection process for government jobs conducted by MPPEB which came to light after a report by the Madhya Pradesh Local Fund Audit office for 2007-08 found alleged financial and administrative irregularities, including unauthorized disposal of application forms, worth crores of rupees by the MPPEB. In 2009, fresh complaints of irregularities in the pre-medical test (PMT) surfaced. Indore-based activist Anand Rai filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) requesting investigation into the scam. In 2009, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan set up a committee headed by the State Joint Director of Medical Education to probe the allegations. In July 2011, MPPEB monitored 145 suspects during the Pre-Medical Test (PMT). Most of the suspects did not turn up, but 8 were caught for impersonating others. MPPEB also started using biometric technology: thumb impressions and photographs of all the persons appearing for the exam were taken to be matched during the post-results counselling. The committee set up by Chouhan in 2009 submitted its report to the government in November 2011. It mentioned that 114 candidates had passed PMT using

impersonation. The candidates, mostly from rich families, had been impersonated by practicing doctors and talented medical students, some of whom had come from neighboring states ofUttar Pradesh and Bihar. The middlemen had charged each candidate ₹ 1-4 million. The findings raised concern that several fake doctors might admitted through PMT in earlier years might have graduated as practitioners. The possibility of government officials being involved in the scam was also mentioned. In December 2011, the MP Government announced that all the students who had gained admissions by fraudulent means would be asked to quit their courses.

Several organized rackets were involved in the Vyapam scam. These included the gangs led by Dr. Jagdish Sagar, Dr. Sanjeev Shilpakar and Sanjay Gupta, who were described as “kingpins” of the PMT scam. For PMT 2013, Dr. Sagar had given 317, Shilpakar 92 and Sanjay Gupta 48 names. Mahendra had recorded the details of these candidates in his computer and destroyed the list. While allotting roll numbers to these candidates, the slots immediately before or after them were left blank. These roll numbers were then allotted to fake candidate. The roll numbers were set at their homes and brought to office in Pen drive. After reaching the office, they uploaded One of the first complaints were registered the roll numbers to the computers. After way back in 2000, but it was only by 2007 that Mahendra, used to telephone the that the scam came to fore as a full-fledged middlemen and provide a confirmation. professional racket. Investigations and arrests started in 2013 after new details Impersonation: In this, all the detail is in emerged. the admit card, including name, date of birth, and roll numbers, of the candidate The massive scale of the Vyapam scam who is applying for the seat. However, the came to light in 2013. On the night of 6-7 photograph is of the impersonator. An July, the Indore police arrested 20 people impersonator is one who writes an exam on from various city hotels. These people, 17 behalf of someone else. In such cases, they of whom were from Uttar Pradesh, had are brilliant students who can score very come to impersonate local candidates in high marks. The concerned officers on the the PMT exam scheduled on 7 July 2013. examination board change the photograph The impersonators had been promised back to that of the original candidate after sums ranging from ₹50,000 to ₹ 100,000. the exam. Based on information collected during the interrogation of these 20 impersonators, Engine and bogie system: A person is Indore police found out that an organized fixed by people on the board whose work racket headed by Jagdish Sagar was is like that of an engine. He/She is seated involved in the scam. After the arrests and strategically between two other candidates the revelation, Dr. Anand Rai submitted a who want a seat. The engine helps them complaint to the local Superintendent of copy from his/her paper. The examiners Police (economic offence wing), seeking are usually bribed to fix the seating a detailed investigation. He sought probe arrangements. into the role of MPPEB’s chairman, exam controller, assistant controller and deputy OMR sheets: The select candidates are controller. On 13 July, Jagdish Sagar was advised to leave their answer sheets blank. arrested in Mumbai. A list containing names They are randomly given high percentages of 317 students was confiscated from him. after the exam. They then fill in the answers

SEESTORY

in the OMR booklet according to the marks September 2016. they have already been given. “The prime minister speaks of bringing A number of people connected to the back black money. Why doesn’t he initiate scam and its investigation, died during the steps to stop generation of black money course of investigation. The opposition within the country first,” Rai asks. Private parties and activists alleged that several of medical colleges, he alleges, generate up these deaths happened under suspicious to Rs 40,000 crore in black money every circumstances. In 2015, the Special Task year through medical admissions alone. Force (STF) submitted a list to High Court, Forty-two per cent of the seats in these naming 23 people who are believed to colleges, he claims, are reserved for NRIs. have died “unnatural deaths”. According to “Forty-three per cent are set aside for the the STF, most of these deaths took place management quota and only 15 per cent before it took over the investigation in of the seats, around 300 in MP, are filled July 2013. Some media reports claimed through general competitive tests every that 40+ people associated with the scam year.” had died under mysterious circumstances. According to the High-Court Special Rai alleges many general seats in private Investigation Team (SIT), 32 people in 25- medical colle¬ges are in fact filled up by 30 age-group identified as ‘racketeers’ these impersonators who surrender the during the investigation, died in suspicious seats within six months. They are then circumstances since the investigation quietly filled up with candida¬tes who pay started in 2012. The SIT officials raised hefty sums for the favour. Both he and digital concerns that the arrested people were forensic expert Prashant Pandey claim that naming those who were already dead, in the “main culprits, kingpins, middlemen order to mislead the probe. and beneficiaries” are still free. “What has been revealed is just five per cent of the The STF also found evidence against the scam,” Pandey had said in an interview to state Governor Ram Naresh Yadav. On The Economic Times in February this year. February 24, 2015, Yadav was charged for criminal conspiracy in rigging the MPPEB “Both the BJP and the Congress have a hand forest guard recruitment examination. in the Vyapam scam. Individual cases can His son Shailesh was an accused in the be found as back as 1995, though the first contractual teachers’ recruitment and later FIR we know is from 2000. But it was only found dead in mysterious circumstances by 2009/10 that the scam was uncovered in March, 2015. His former officer-on- as being this big, and organized. In spite of special-duty Dhanraj Yadav was arrested knowing this, the BJP took no action. This by STF in 2013 in connection with the is why Shivraj Chouhan is more responsible scam. The Governor petitioned the High for the mess,” says Gwalior-based social Court arguing that no criminal proceedings activist Ashish Chaturvedi. could be initiated against him, as the Constitution of India grants him immunity With more than 1500 arrests and 500 while he is in office. The High Court agreed people absconding, the Government which and stayed his arrest, but ordered the resisted the CBI to take over the scam investigations against him to proceed. The paved way for CBI on July 8, 2015 owing SIT chief declared that the investigators to heavy accusations and pressure from the will act against Yadav after his retirement in opposition.

Image: VSSC

N U ! FACTS Monowi 1 is a village in Nebraska with a population of 1. She acts as the mayor and also pays tax to herself!

INFOCUS

ISRO ABOUT TO LAUNCH

5 NEW SATELLITES

The Heaviest Single foreign satellite carried by a PSLV till date was a French SPOT7 satellite (714 kg) launched on June 30, 2014. And Indian Space Research Organisation is now geared up to push it’s limit. Witness ISRO’s heaviest commercial launch on July 10. ISRO will be launching five British satellites, which weigh nearly 1440 kg, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. ISRO chief Dr.Radakrishnan said that to mount such a heavy weight on the launch vehicle was a big challenge but Indian scientists have successfully completed the task and it will be the heaviest launch mission ever in the history of ISRO. To mount the satellite, scientists designed a circular L-adaptor and a triangular Multiple Satellite Adapter-Version 2 (MSA-V2). The three DMC3 satellites, each weighing 447kg, will be launched into a 647km sunsynchronous orbit. Riding piggyback on them would be two auxiliary satellites from the UK, CBNT-1, a 9kg technology demonstrator earth observation micro satellite built by SSTL, and De-OrbitSail, a 7kg technology demonstrator nano satellite built by Surrey Space Centre.

Indian Space Research Organisation will be using the high-end XL version of PSLV for the ninth time. It will be also 13th flight for PSLV-C28. “India has established itself as an efficient commercial launch pad for foreign satellites. This is the heaviest payload for a commercial launch. A successful PSLV-C28 launch would give a big boost to ISRO’s commercial launch capabilities,” said ISRO spokesman Deviprasad Karnik. These international customer satellites are being launched as part of the arrangement entered into between DMC International Imaging (DMCii), a wholly owned subsidiary of SSTL, UK; and Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a Government of India Company under Department of Space.

DMC3 consists of three super advanced mini-satellites, DMC3-1, DMC3-2 and DMC3-3. It is designed to address the need for simultaneous high spatial resolution and high temporal resolution optical Earth Observation. With 120-degree phase separation between them, these satellites will be able to “With the overall lift-off mass of the five monitor any surface on the earth and can satellites amounting to about 1440kg, help in identifying resources, monitoring this mission becomes the heaviest disasters, watch urban development, etc. commercial mission ever undertaken by Antrix/Isro,” the organization said. -Sga Thomas, Associate Editor.

Image: VSSC

N U FACTS! In Hong Kong, a wife is legally allowed to kill her cheating husband, but only with her bare hands. A man can kill his cheating wife in Uruguay.

INFOCUS

BIHAR: 1400 FAKE TEACHERS RESIGN

FEARING PROSECUTION

Delhi’s law minister, Jitendra Singh Tomar, was arrested for allegedly lying about his degrees. One month later, the news flashed Over 1,400 primary schoolteachers have resigned till date apprehending legal action for allegedly taking the job on fake educational certificates.

response to a PIL which alleged that a large number among the 3.5 lakh primary teachers in Bihar have secured the job using fake degrees. The state administration has already pushed the vigilance department into action for probing and verifying educational qualifications of teachers. Any teacher found with fake credentials will have an FIR filed in his/her name and the government will move for recovery of salary following immediate termination of services.

The resignations follow the Patna high court directive to the state government on Monday last week to ask the schoolteachers having fake or invalid certificates to resign within a week of the public notice to be published within two days. The quality of education, particularly in rural areas, is a major problem in The High Court ordered an investigation India. Many teachers also fail to show in May into the state’s 350,000 primary up to class regularly, leaving colleagues teachers on concerns that up to 25,000 overburdened. More than half of children had joined government schools without in rural areas are still unable to read proper training. Resignations poured in basic text in their own language after as the probe got underway, with officials completing five years of government scrutinizing teacher CVs, before the schooling, according to an annual survey court ordered the amnesty last month, by Pratham, a leading Indian education which ends on July 9. and research group. “We expect more teachers to resign by July 9, the deadline set for doing so to escape punishment,” said Vinodanand Jha, OSD to principal secretary, education department. The High Court issued a warning in

But the question that still wanders is How can ethical behaviour be expected from children who are being taught by individuals who are way below standards of integrity? - Sga Thomas.

PHOTO:NEENA SABARI MENON

N U FACTS! 16

SPOTLIGHT:TV

KALEY

CUOCO

[Knock, Knock, Knock] Penny [Knock, Knock, Knock] Penny [Knock, Knock, Knock] Penny Born in California on November 30,1985, to Layne Ann (Wingate) and Gary Carmine Cuoco, a realtor, Kaley Christine Cuoco is of Italian (father) and German and English (mother) descent. A regionally marked amateur tennis player from age 6, she was also a commercial actress and a model starting with her first major role in Quicksand: No Escape when she was 7. Following a high number of gueststarring on series like Ellen (1994), Northern Exposure (1990), Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush (1995) and My So-Called Life (1994), Cuoco made her first feature film appearance as the young Karin Carter in the 1995 action thriller Virtuosity. She started to play leading role in the Miniseries “Mr. Murder”. In September 2002, Cuoco began a starring role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules. In addition to the final season of 8 Simple Rules, Cuoco had starring roles on the NBC miniseries 10.5, the ABC Family original movie Crimes of Fashion, the independent film Debating Robert Lee, and in the film The Hollow. She also voiced the character of Brandy Harrington, a 14-yearold anthropomorphic mixed-breed dog, on the Disney Channel cartoon Brandy and Mr. Whiskers. Cuoco voiced the character of Kirstee Smith in Bratz from 2004 to 2005. In

the eighth season of the TV show Charmed, Cuoco appeared as Billie Jenkins, a powerful young witch with the powers of telekinesis and projection. In September 2007, Cuoco began starring in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, playing Penny, a Cheesecake Factory employee and aspiring actress who lives across the hall from scientists Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper. As of 4 August 2014, Cuoco and her co-stars from The Big Bang Theory Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons, each earn an estimated $1 million per episode. She was also chosen to host the Teen Choice Awards in 2011, as well as the People’s Choice Awards in 2012 and 2013. Cuoco is a regular on Priceline.com commercials as the daughter of William Shatner’s character. When she’s not acting, Cuoco is an avid tennis player, who consistently ranks well in Southern California Tennis Association standings as a member of a regional amateur division team. She stopped playing in 2002, at the age of 16. While working on The Big Bang Theory, Cuoco privately dated co-star Johnny Galecki for roughly two years until December 2009, while their characters on the show were also dating. She became engaged to addiction specialist Josh Resnik in October 2011, but they ended their engagement by March 2012. Cuoco subsequently became engaged to professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting in September 2013, after three months of dating. They married on December 31, 2013, in Santa Susana, California. -Sga Thomas, Associate Editor.

TESLA SUPERSTATIONS IN THE USA

TALKTHETECH

TESLAMOTORS

Vroooom! Here we go around seeing people never losing the touch with the trending fads for automobiles over the years. Its funny when we think about how Karl Benz with his first three wheeler went bumping into walls, however later invented the carburettor, the ignition, the accelerator, the clutch, gear shift and the radiator. Benz designed and patented the first internalcombustion engine, called boxer motor. In 1901, the brake was invented, followed by electricity, indicators and air conditioning were added. Most cars in use today are propelled by an internal combustion engine, fuelled by deflagration of petrol or diesel. Contrary to popular belief, many of the first cars in late 1800s were actually electric vehicles, but as it was found that incredible amounts of money can be made by selling petrol, it’s not surprising that the electric car was suppressed. But time has again bought it to our attention with Tesla motors, an American automotive and energy storage public company that designs and sells electric cars, electric vehicle power train components, and battery products. Tesla first gained widespread attention following their production of the Tesla Roadster, the first fully electric sports car. The company’s second vehicle is the Model S, a fully electric luxury sedan, followed by the Models X and 3. Tesla Motors was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning Both men played active roles in the company’s early development. Joining Tesla’s Board of Directors as its Chairman, Elon Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw Roadster’s product design at a detailed level and insisted from the beginning on a carbon fibre body and he led design of components ranging

from the power electronics module to the headlamps and other styling. Musk consistently maintained that Tesla’s longterm strategic goal was to create affordable mass market electric vehicles. Unlike other automakers, Tesla does not use singlepurpose, larger format cells. In 2012, Tesla Motors began building a network of 480volt fast-charging Supercharger stations to facilitate longer distance journeys for the Model S. As of 11 May 2015, there are 425 stations operating globally, with 203 in North America, 150 in Europe, and 76 in the Asia/Pacific region Eventually, all Supercharger stations are to be supplied by solar power uses thousands of lithiumion 18650 commodity cells, 18650 cells are small, cylindrical battery cells, which are usually found in laptops and other consumer electronics devices. Tesla Motors also uses a unique version of these cells, designed to be cheaper to manufacture and to be lighter than the standard cells. So much for technology and yet it never stops from exploring the future, autonomous driving The ability for drivers to let their cars do the driving could be the next outbreak in the history of cars and Future models may also reach a 400 miles (640 km) range because of a new patented battery system pairing up with the metal air. Unlike other major manufacturers, Tesla does not sell cars via franchisee. Instead, Tesla markets directly in malls. This of course doesn’t sit well with dealership associations, many of whom have already filed lawsuits. Tesla has already been banned in Texas. Interestingly, Texas is home of the United States’ oil supply. Coincidence? - Aishwarya V. Writer.

THE SECRETS OF

MELUHA: EPISODE 3

tamil civilization: let’s do some diggin’ Pro-Sanskrit scholars have long denied the fact that Tamil is the oldest language known to us. This is partly because of the egoistic bias of Sanskrit scholars and their belief in the religious superiority of their language. While I respect the language as such, I beg to disagree with the scholars. This episode, let us look at literature and references to famous Gods in human birth. For the course of this series, I am going to assume that these Gods were mortal heroes, immortalized by stories of their bravery and wisdom. Lord Shiva was present in the first Tamil Sangam which was held at the then Madurai, the capital of Kumari Kandam. Kumari Kandam is a geographic landmass, upon which lived a prosperous and well-cultured Tamil society, which is said to have submerged under the rising oceans long before us. Proof of this is evident from references from texts from the third Tamil Sangam. Lord Muruga (or Karthikeyan a.k.a Karthick) was a great patron

MELUHHA

in the development of Tamil. There is said to be two major eras of the Tamil Language – the “Agasthiyar thamizh” and the “Murugan thamizh”. Agasthiyar thamizh is the original Tamil which was probably the “Proto Tamil” modern linguists talk about. Murugan thamizh is the later variant which continues on today. Nobody knows what language Lord Ram used. But in treta yuga (the second of the four yugas or eras of mankind) Sage Agasthiyar, a wise and old grammarian for Tamil, advised Lord Ram to build the city of Rameshwaram. If we agree that Sage Agasthiyar lived in the same period as Ram, and add to that that Sugriva’s mention of Tamil kingdoms such as Chera, Chola and Pandiya while ordering their soldiers to run a search for the missing Sita, then we should agree that the language of Tamil existed before the treta yuga (Tamil already existed in its full sense during Agasthiyar’s era. It would have taken thousands of years to attain that growth).

The language of Tamil was also closely associated with science and mathematics. Tamil poets did not write only about Love and War, they wrote great scientific feats in their period. Since the destruction of the once powerful Kumari Kandam, we have been losing who we were. All these arguments are not aimed at showcasing Tamil as the oldest language, but at figuring out the roots of history. All this evidence supports the claim that Tamil is the oldest language and Tamil society is one of the oldest civilizations. Until further evidence surfaces, it is a little blurred as to say conclusively, but this is very strong

evidence so far. Added to this, the discovery of the submerged cities of Dwaraka (the legendary city built by Krishna) off the coast of Gujarat to be between 9000 and 10,500 years old and Poompuhar (or Puhar nagaram, one of the three capitals of ancient Tamil kingdoms, the other two being Madurai and Kanchipuram) to be around 12,000 years old also reiterates the age of the Tamil kingdom. However this is no conclusive evidence as we cannot know for sure how long each of these cities have stood before the great deluge. - Muthu Kumar, Editor.

PHOTO:NEENA SABARI MENON

OUIJA BOARDS

ARE THEY FOR REAL?

The Witchcraft session not only engulfed me, “Shall we play it ?” but also 4 long inspiring hours. What? Witchcraft and now Ouija? Ridiculous The Clock struck 12. I thought. Shanmu Uncle went to his kitchen, fetched me “So What are the rules?” a bottle of water. Then he went to his study room and brought a board that looked like “I wouldn’t call these rules, but three major his favorites board Scramble. points to remember before starting the session. The first thing is being in a serious mood. This Wait, is that a Scramble board? ensures your natural psychic defenses are turned while you’re talking to the dead. You Nope. It’s not. It’s an Ouija Board! are ready for negative energy, naturally closing yourself off to it, and protecting yourself from “Do you believe in spirits ?” it. The second ALWAYS SAY GOODBYE AT THE END Mischievous or negative ghosts will “May be” refuse to say Goodbye. This ends the session and sets your mind to shutting that door “You knew this board would channels us to opened from the other side. The last thing the Evil world, did you ?” is NEVER USE THE OUIJA BOARD IN YOUR HOME. This is because the negative energy “I heard of. The spirits would be able to talk from bad ghosts can affect you. You’re at to us by moving this planchette across the rest and want to feel comfortable in your alphanumeric in this board.” home, a place where you’re most vulnerable. The last thing you want is negative energy

SHANMUUNCLE

swirling about, affecting your mood, causing and people desired a better method of problems in your family, and nightmares while communicating with spirits than the ones in you sleep.” existence. And to fill that need talking boards were created. By 1886 the practice had become Ridiculous, I thought. Shanmu uncle believing so common to the point of being reported in in these stuffs? the news as a phenomenon that was taking over the spiritualists’ camps in Ohio.” “Don’t worry! We are not going to start the session.” “So you believe in these stuffs ?” “They say that we need at least 3-5 people to “Of Course Not ! Do I look like believing these start the session.” things? But I had tried them few times with my friends during my college days. This board “Yes true, but not necessary. First, people is just a commercial board game. Thanks to who are not psychic (like most of us) wouldn’t Ejiah Bond who patented it. And I am a critic have enough energy to create a session when of these beliefs. alone. Psychics with high energy are also able to control it. Second, the best communication, “According to Professor of neurology Terence and the reason the Ouija was invented, is for Hines ’the planchette is guided by unconscious the combined energy of a group. Without the muscular exertions like those responsible group, little to nothing will ever happen.” for table movement. Nonetheless, in both cases, the illusion that the object (table or “What happens if something goes wrong planchette) is moving under its own control during the session ?” is often extremely powerful and sufficient to convince many people that spirits are truly “Nightmares, feeling of being stalked, mood at work.’ He also says that ‘the unconscious swings, even Death. Sometimes creating muscle movements responsible for the literatures. In late 1963, Jane Roberts and her moving tables and Ouija board phenomena husband Robert Butts started experimenting seen at séances are examples of a class of with an Ouija board as part of Roberts’ phenomena due to what psychologists call a research for the book. According to Roberts dissociative state.’ A dissociative state is one in and Butts, on December 2, 1963 they began which consciousness is somehow divided or to receive coherent messages from a male cut off from some aspects of the individual’s personality who eventually identified himself normal cognitive, motor, or sensory functions. as Seth, culminating in a series of books dictated by “Seth”.” “The National Geographic show Brain Games even ran an episode that clearly showed the “How did these board came into existence ?” board did not work when all participants were blindfolded. Albeit they have been used in “One of the first mentions of the automatic horror fiction scary movies and had box office writing method used in the Ouija board is collections.” found in China around 1100 AD, in historical documents of the Song Dynasty. The method “So shall we play the game ?” was known as fuji. Spiritualism, the belief that the dead are able to communicate with the I emptied the bottle. living, was in vogue during the 19th century - Sga Thomas, Associate Editor.

PHOTO:NEENA SABARI MENON

SILVER DREAMS SHORT STORY | I K N

SHORTSTORY

Ever since my eyes fell on her, the gravity of love brings me down to a dream for a lateral shift into those frozen time frames of the most romantic movies I ever watched. Dimly lit under the brightest stars and retouched by the candle glow, an empty restaurant, full of life, serving a dinner just for us. But this experience of a taste that lasts longer than million food chains, ceases to be a dream in the reality I suffer. I am a mere labor in the bourgeoisie built world working hard to earn enough food so as to live. I could be anyone and with a prefix to my name makes her no one. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been about 3 years since we got married and I still can remember our first encounter as it happened yesterday. That was one busy day, packed with people all over, I found a little decent cozy restaurant at end of a lane. My shrinking stomach killed my money saving nerves and I was lucky enough to find a seat. There was just one more seat empty, the one right in front of me. It was a quite restaurant except for a couple adjacent to me seeming to have some emotional fight. . Having come across such couples a lot of times made me numb to their public acts and I generally avoid them as they make nightmare out of my only dream. For what followed later, I never thought in my life that I will be thanking this couple for the rest of my life. The indifference I made to choose the seat made all the difference in my life. Before my uninteresting dish appeared, there she was, in front of me adjusting herself in that empty seat. I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take my glimpse off from her silver eyes that were busy looking at that heated conversation happening between that couple. For a moment, I thought we could be sharing more than the mere dining table when a glass bowl shattered across us throwing out cereal and milk on her. This shrewd act of the couple who later stormed out scolding each other, left me busy and keen helping my vision stealer in getting cleaned. That was the best of the dinners we had, laughing about the act, getting to know each other and wondering how breakfast cereals landed in a

restaurant for dinner. She still cherishes that memory, calling it the cereal rain. Now I fear, thinking of all this, and questioning myself, are we just meant to live with the taste of this cereal forever. Our struggling life made my dream impossible. Thinking of all this I dressed myself well, for today is our third anniversary. We are heading out for a dinner after quite a long time. We planned to dine in a little luxurious hotel nearby and made savings accordingly in the past 2 weeks. We walked down the lane together beneath the stars, heading towards that restaurant. Even now when I look into her eyes, past the silver veil I can get a glimpse of my dreams. After about seven minutes, we neared the restaurant. Before we were about to enter, a group of high class people made their exit. They left out and they all had an emotion of some kind of dull and shock mixture. It made me fear more for unknown reasons, the shattering of glass bowl that started this echoes the shattering of my dreams. I entered with heavy heart holding her hands a little tighter than usual. And here to my utmost surprise, we find our self in a completely empty and dead silent restaurant. We have every seats to choose for. The waiter helped us to a comfortable seat near the windows. Out there, I looked up to the stars. In the dimly lit ambience, I find my dream coming to life, I looked at her, and this dream is another thing we both commonly shared too. There were tears in her eyes, glittering brighter than the stars and her smile adding more to the heavenly ambience. But I missed something, candles. Precisely at that moment, a server came with two candles from inside and set it on our table. My dream became complete in that aura. We had such a lively moment together that night and I thanked everything right from that couple for making this happen. A moment that will last forever. The happy thoughts that played karaoke in me deafened me to everything outside, the insects chirp, traffic noises and some girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cry... - INdhu Kanth

THOUGHTBUBBLE

WHY

SHOULD YOU LET YOUR ARCHITECT DESIGN YOUR HOME? PROFESSIONAL THOUGHT | AR MUTHU KUMAR

Have you ever walked up to a doctor and said, “Hey doc, I’m ill. Can you prescribe me the following drugs”? No? Have you told a lawyer “This is my case. I want you to represent me in court with these arguments”? No way? So why would you think your architect knows any less about his work? Do you really have to do his work for him? So who is an architect? In India, an architect is a person who has completed a five year bachelor’s degree in Architecture (B.Arch) and is recognized by the Council of Architecture (CoA). He works late nights and wakes up on his laptop. He dreams of skyscrapers and modernism. But he goes to work and designs an atrocious looking house which might have well fallen through a time machine from the 1900s. An architect passes through a rigorous course practising what is right and wrong for a building - and for you. But that doesn’t mean you should not ask him for what you want. You can tell your doctor what you’re ailing from. You can’t write down the medicine too. Give the architect your problems and trust in him. He will make the solution. But there’s a widespread doubt in the minds of even educated people in India. What the hell is architecture? “Architecture is the art or practice of designing and constructing

buildings” says Oxford. Isn’t that what my civil engineer is for? To put it simply, the architect designs your house and the civil engineer executes the design. The architect is part artist and part scientist. For some reason, India became a nation of engineers. According to the Economic times, a whopping 1.5 million engineering students (2013) graduate out of Indian universities every year. This is more than the US and China combined. Indian parents have a unified goal of making India a nation of Engineers and doctors. Such passion in that. I do not claim that architecture is a vastly superior course or a profession. I only say that everybody needs to be let to do THEIR job. To anybody who is reading this, I would advise you to not ask a contractor to design your house. He is NOT a trained professional and he is NOT a licensed authority. Before you decide, if only you would approach an architect and discuss your idea, you would understand the merit to my claim. If you’re still unsure of what architecture means, just check out a web search. See what we have done. And if you’re still not satisfied with green building, efficient planning and aesthetics, please do not come to us. If you come to us, give us the data and let us do the working for you. - Ar Muthu Kumar, Editor.

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